Memantine prevents reference and working memory impairment caused by sleep deprivation in both young and aged Octodon degus.

Memory loss is one of the key features of cognitive impairment in either aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia. Pharmacological treatments for memory loss are today focused on addressing symptomatology. One of these approved compounds is memantine, a partial NMDA receptor antagonist that has proved its beneficial effects in cognition.

Persistent phagocytic characteristics of microglia in the substantia nigra of long-term Parkinsonian macaques.

Patients with Parkinson's disease show persistent microglial activation in the areas of the brain where the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons takes place. The reason for maintaining this activated state is still unknown, but it is thought that this persistent microglial activation may contribute to the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. In this study, we report the microanatomical details of microglia and the relationship between microglia and neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta of Parkinsonian monkeys years after insult with MPTP.

ROCK/Cdc42-mediated microglial motility and gliapse formation lead to phagocytosis of degenerating dopaminergic neurons in vivo.

The role of microglial motility in the context of adult neurodegeneration is poorly understood. In the present work, we investigated the microanatomical details of microglia-neuron interactions in an experimental mouse model of Parkinson's disease following the intraperitoneal injection of MPTP. The specific intoxication of dopaminergic neurons induces the cellular polarization of microglia, leading to the formation of body-to-body neuron-glia contacts, called gliapses, which precede neuron elimination.

CCL2-expressing astrocytes mediate the extravasation of T lymphocytes in the brain. Evidence from patients with glioma and experimental models in vivo.

CCL2 is a chemokine involved in brain inflammation, but the way in which it contributes to the entrance of lymphocytes in the parenchyma is unclear. Imaging of the cell type responsible for this task and details on how the process takes place in vivo remain elusive. Herein, we analyze the cell type that overexpresses CCL2 in multiple scenarios of T-cell infiltration in the brain and in three different species.

Increase of secondary processes of microglial and astroglial cells after MPTP-induced degeneration in substantia nigra pars compacta of non human primates.

Nigral dopaminergic areas from Parkinsonian patients show an increase of reactive astrocytes and active microglia. The reaction of these two cell types is a clear evidence of inflammatory response associated with dopaminergic cell loss. However, the function of this glial reaction remains unclear.

Inflammatory response in Parkinsonism.

Inflammatory responses have been proposed as important factors in dopaminergic neuro-degeneration in Parkinsonism. Increasing evidence suggests that the alteration of the glial microenvironment induced by neuronal degeneration could be deleterious to the remaining neurons. The activation of microglia/macrophages and reactive astrocytes may have a negative effect on the surrounding parenchyma, perpetuating the neurodegenerative process.